Invisible

Chapter One

     I walked into the kitchen. My mom was standing by the sink.

     "Hey mom." She continued to stand there. Dark circles rimmed her red eyes. Many sleepless nights hadn't been kind to her. She stared blankly down as the water splashed into the sink. Steam rose up from the sink. Her hands were busy washing dishes, sloshing in the water. She hummed quietly to herself.

     I sat on the table. "I had a good sleep. Thanks for asking." She straightened up, as if about to respond, looking in my direction. She furrowed her brow and brought her hands out of the water. They were bright red from the heat. She put to fingers to her temple and massaged it slowly. Walking past me, she wouldn't even look my way.

      Sighing, I walked over and turned off the sink. It was filled with a couple dirty dishes from last night's supper. The faucet dripped slowly, each drop splashing in the water, seemingly echoing in the silent house.

      "I'm leaving now." I shouted. I was met with silence. I walked out the door. The town I lived in was the same as always. Dreary and dark.

Walking down town, I saw other people on walks as well. They were bundled up in coats, nodding to eachother as they passed one another. None gave me a second glance. The sky was a light grey, clouded over from last nights rain. I sighed, this was the way it had been for a while now, the whole town seemed to be ignoring me.

I looked down at my own clothing. A light jacket over a faded blue shirt. Dark jeans and boots. I kept walking, keeping my head down, staring at my boots. The sidewalk was cracked here and there. My boots were a little torn up as well, the toes were skinned. I looked up just in time to barley dodge another person walking in the opposite direction. He continued walking as if it didn't happen.

     I passed by a book store, and the door opened behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I saw a boy about my age. He had on an overly sized coat over some baggy jeans. His dark black hair was slightly ruffled. Two bright blue eyes seemed to look right past me, almost looking through me.

He took off running. The store owner ran out of his shop. "Theif! Catch him!" A couple of people on the opposite side of the street looked up, then kept on walking. I watched as he turned a corner, and I took off. I ran after him, my feet splashing in the puddles. The houses raced past me as I ran.

Finally I caught up to him. He had stopped in an alley, looking over his shoulder. He seemed to have not seen me. He laughed a little breathlessly, and started coughing. Deep throughted coughs racked his body, shaking him. His cheeks were red from the cold. He spit onto the ground, and took a deep breath, wheezing a little.

I stood in the corner, watching him. He took a book out from under his arm and smiled. I tore my eyes from the gap between his teeth and the dimples on his chin to look at the book. It was torn and ragged, obviously well used. The binding was comming off, and the pages were yellowed and water marked.

     In worn gold lettering on the cover the book read, The guide to the undead. I tried to hold in a laugh, but it escaped me none the less. He turned towards me, looking about frantically. "Who was that? Who's there?"

     I covered my mouth and stood in the corner, completely quiet. He stuffed the book into his backpack and walked away, straight past me. As soon as he disappeared around the corner, I walked out into the open, exhaling a sigh of relief.

    The walk home was uneventful. I walked in through the door and was greeted by my parents screaming at each other. A door slammed and sounds of a car driving off told me all i needed to know.  Soft sobs came from their room. I sigh and walk into my room.  I flop onto my bed and sigh, listening to sounds of cars going by and my mother's heart wrenching sobs.